Sunday, November 29, 2009

Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House we go! (Or in this case, Grandmothers' Houses!)

Best Decoration: Grandma Louise's Turkey Basket

Best Pie: Grandma Marti's Apple Crumb Pie Grandma Louise's Pecan Pie (Grandma Marti's was voted the best by the kids, but since 1. I didn't have any, and 2. I don't have a pic, Grandma Louise's wins by default! LOL!)

Best Side Dish: Yams with Marshmallows

Most Connected: Tie, Emma & Scott

Best After-Dinner, Pre-Pie Activity: Walk to the playground

Most Fun Playground Equipment: Zip Line Simulator

Best Quote: "In case anyone is wondering, I'll be on the roof." ~ Sadie, age 9

So lately I've been thinking about what I want to *do* in my life. You know, that thing that you introduce yourself as when meeting people, answering the question, "So what do you do?" And I've come to understand that the thing we should all be answering with is the thing that brings us the great joy in our life, our passion, whether or not it's the thing that bring us the most money.

Like for me, I've put it on my profile that I'm "sometimes disguised as a substitute teacher" but sometimes, most times, that's all I ever talk about with people. I never talk about the thing that makes my heart swell, and it's always the thing that I relegate to the back burner in times of stress. I still feel guilty about liking it, like it's just kids' stuff, I'm only playing around, goofing off when I do it...

But isn't that what makes us all smile the widest, goofing off? Isn't that when we all should feel our best, when we're having fun?

And I think zenhabits may have written about this before, which would have planted the seed for me to start changing my thinking, but this morning I got this:

P.S. Of course it'll feel funny at first, Diana, might even look funny, but how badly do you want what you want?

And it hit me. Just start doing it. Perhaps if your passionate, joy-bringing thing is something like flying a plane, you can't *just do it* but creating art... calling myself an artist, and actually *DOING* that, instead of wallowing in guilt and self-doubt, putting it off when I'm stressed about money... I *can* just do it!

So, I am going to back to making something every day, because to me, that's what an artist does, even if it's just a few quick sketches...

Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago?How did they work out?Didn't you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them?Didn't most of them turn out all right after all?

Saturday, November 21, 2009

So I spent today doing some digital scrapbooking. With all the photo editing I've done, I've never really done it, but when the ladies over at DigiDare offered a whole kit to anyone who even tried, I thought I'd give it a shot! It was fun! Now, if only I had a better computer so PSP wouldn't keep crashing on me, and a better printer so I could print it out! ^-^

Here's the challenge:

3 Photos in 3 different shapes (circle, rectangle, and heart)

3 Papers (polka dots, dots & stripes, and lined)

3 matching elements somewhere on the page (3 groups of 3 rhinestones)

3 different alphas (I think I used 3x2 different alphas! ^-^)

3 spots of journaling (Yup!)

Extra credit for those who take the THREE theme and run with it even further! (Well, it's his 3-Month birthday, and their are 3 items in each of the groups of rhinestones; does that count?)

It stumped me for a while - what to scrap - but then I remembered that Benji-boo just had his 3 month birthday! Perfect! So I found some great pis of him having a bottle from each month, et voilà!

I love how it turned out! If anyone wants to know about any of the papers or elements or anything, let me know, and I'll post the details. Otherwise, I'm gonna be lazy and not do it. XD

Don't forget to test your blood glucose at 2pm, then exercise for 14 minutes and test again, and post your results at The Big Blue Test!

ETA: Jacqueline & I both did this. We both had normal breakfasts about 11:30 and haven't eaten since. Our starting BGs were: Jacqueline = 137, Diana = 253. We went for a brisk walk through the woods, which really haven't been cleared for a trail, so it's over & under & around trees and branches and briars... Our ending BGs were: Jacqueline = 98, Diana = 260. Weird.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I wrote this more than a decade ago; how serendipitous that I should find it on my desk today...

The silence in the cold air was deafening. A light snow began to fall and the sound of 16 feet marching in time faintly drifted the air. Eight men came over a rise in the road; their movements stiff and formal; their uniforms as dully colored as the day. They took their place several yards away and the silence resumed.

My mind began playing scenes from my grandfather's life; some I only knew of from old photographs and the stories that he told, others I had been there for. But I wasn't here because of him today; I was here to witness the final honor of a man I never knew. Perhaps, somehow, my own grandfather, who had also served his country and yet had not had this honor, perhaps he would see, from wherever her was, that in my heart, I was present here for him, as well as for my new family.

A voice called out an order and broke the silence, almost physically. And then the sharp report of seven guns rang out three times in the frosty air. Eerily, almost as if from a dream, the bugler began to blow Taps. The mournful sound carried on the breeze seemed so very final. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I would not let them fall.

As the closing notes faded away, the men began to move. They came toward us with the same stiff formality as before. Staring straight ahead, they arranged themselves around the grave. Solemnly, they unfolded the flag of our country with exact precise movements, a few of the stern-faced men sniffling in the cold. Then they refolded it, placing 3 shells within it's folds.

They passed the flag with great respect to their sergeant, who turned his staid face to my future mother-in-law. With a deep rich voice he spoke. "On behalf of the President..."

The tears now flowed freely down my cheeks and off my chin, not just for the man I never knew, not just for my grandfather; nor did they fall for my new family who had lost one of their numbers. They fell for all the families who had lost someone and for all those someones.

The men eventually left with deliberate and rigid marching and the silence continued. How to end it? How to step in on another person's thoughts? What words could ever be appropriate? A hug was all I could think to do and even that seemed an intrusion. So I stood there quietly, wiping the tears from my face.

I wrote this in the late winter of 1999 after attending the funeral of my future grandfather-in-law. I only ever showed this to my husband. I asked him if it would be ok to send to his mother. He said not to. I regret my decision to go along with him. His mother would have appreciated this. By the time I knew her well enough to figure that out, the hard drive of the computer it was saved on had died, and now she has. I don't remember ever printing it out, but here it is...

Don't give yourself a reason to regret. Thank a veteran or the family of veteran any time you get the chance. Let them know how much their service means to you. They'll appreciate it, even if it seems like they won't or don't. In the end, it matters...

Monday, November 09, 2009

November 14th is World Diabetes Day and the people at Diabetes Hands Foundation are organizing an online awareness event to take place at 2pm local time.

Its goal is to raise awareness around the importance of blood glucose testing and physical activity for people with diabetes. In the process, thousands of people touched by diabetes will connect with others with diabetes as they participate, testing their blood glucose, doing 14 minutes of exercise, testing again and sharing their results online.

Participation is easy. At 2pm test your blood glucose (BG). Then exercise for 14 minutes, and test your BG again. Then post your results at http://bigbluetest.org; you can even add pictures if you want.

I'm hoping this nice weather we;ve been having will hold so I can take a nice walk. How about you?

Saturday, November 07, 2009

While New Tree does have a website (newtree.com), I was unable to find the Pink Peppercorn chocolate bar anywhere. However, the first google hit including 'peppercorn' was Walmart, so perhaps it's a special thing just for them... They had several varieties available, I chose the 2 that appealed to me...

The first I opened was the dark chocolate with pink peppercorns. I was overwhelmed by the pepper smell just opening the package. Strangely it seems very floral. The bar was already broken a bit, and I could see the pretty red (fine, pink) peppercorns. Sadly I couldn't enjoy the chocolate much as the peppercorn flavor was very overpowering. The little crunches were nice, but definitely too much pepper flavor. Not *hot* but definitely too much flavor. I rate this flavor...

One Ear Up.

That left the lavender milk chocolate. It had a lovely delicate floral scent UNDER the chocolate, not overpowering it, and I was glad to see there were no lavender stems or flowers in the chocolate. The chocolate was creamy and smooth and melted quickly in my mouth filling it with a subtle lavender flavor before disappearing into a chocolaty aftertaste. I rate this flavor...

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